Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Category: Uncategorized

  • Florence Cats

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    If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine. ~Morris West Florence has already had a huge impact on things here in the Piedmont, far away from her predicted point of landfall. While this is minor compared to what people in the more direct path of the storm will… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Winter in the Woods

    There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance. ~William Sharp The quiet beauty of a winter snow storm…this is… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Big Jaws

    The naturalist suffers a pleasant nuisance – not being able to walk 100 yards without being tied to the spot by some new and wondrous creature. ~Charles Darwin I’m afraid this applies to me and is often why it takes so long to hike (saunter is probably a better term for what I usually do)… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Cope-ing with the Rains

    If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion. ~Adrian Forsyth My apologies for once again using this corny phrase in a post about Cope’s Gray Treefrogs (see previous post about their life… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Barking Up the Right Tree – Part 2

    Here are the answers to yesterday’s tree trunk quiz. How did you do? One of the largest trees in Eastern North America. The white, mottled upper trunks and branches make it one of the most recognizable of our trees, especially in winter. I have always called this distinctive tree, ironwood, due to its dense, hard… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Barking up the Right Tree

    Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. ~Hal Borland Melissa and I try to test each other as we walk any trail this time of year with a tree trunk quiz – we try to identify trees by just looking at the trunk at eye level…no fair looking up, unless we are stumped.  I… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • New Beginnings

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    Native plants give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours. ~Lady Bird Johnson You may have noticed a slight reduction in the number of posts the last few weeks. A major reason is that I have been busy with a new chapter in my life, a new adventure. It… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Merlin Magic

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    …we will not care about what we do not recognize. ~Tim Beatley I have spent a lifetime trying to learn about the world around me. Not about the financial sector, or cars, or electricity (all of these, I now realize, might actually have come in handy), but about the natural world, the plants and animals… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Refuge Renewal

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    In such surroundings – occasional as our visits may be – we can achieve that kind of physical and spiritual renewal that comes alone from the wonder of the natural world. ~Laurence Rockefeller It is the season of renewal for me, the season of experiencing some of the wild spectacles of this place I call… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Red-shoulders

    The sparrow flying behind the hawk thinks the hawk is fleeing. ~Japanese proverb Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to work with my friend, Mary, to provide an introductory bird photography class at the NC Botanical Garden (NCBG) in Chapel Hill. It was next to the last in a series of programs that were part… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn